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Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Activity types:

Level

Difficulty indicator

Difficulty is measured on many factors such as distance, ascent/descent, terrain, weather and more. There's no magic formula, but from our experience we use yellow for easy, orange for medium and red for hard. Challenger holidays require a high level of fitness and stamina.

Holiday overview

The magnificent Pembrokeshire Coast in Wales takes you on a journey along its wild and rugged coastal path between Cardigan and St Davids. Stunning coastal scenery as we pass through tiny secluded villages to our destination of St Davids, Britain's smallest city. The variety of natural features on the coast are overwhelming. The display of wild flowers, abundance of seabirds including puffins and Manx shearwaters and the perfect place to catch a glimpse of grey seals, harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphins, whales and basking shark

In pictures...

Accommodation

Salutation Inn, Newport - 3nts

A warm welcome awaits at the 16th century Salutation Inn, a former coaching inn In the heart of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. All rooms are en-suite and include TV, tea and coffee making facilities, telephone and hairdryer.

Fishguard Bay Hotel, Fishguard - 2nts

The grounds of the Fishguard Bay Hotel are set amongst fine Pembrokeshire woodland, and accompanied by breathtaking sea views. Rooms are en-suite and equipped with direct dial telephone, hairdryer, TV and tea/coffee making facilities.

Y Glennyd, St Davids - 2nts

Tim and Tracey Foster will welcome you to Y Glennyd, their small hotel in the heart of this tiny but magical city of St Davids. The hotel dates back to the 1880s and is situated within a few minutes' walk of both the city centre and cathedral. The hotel has ten bedrooms. All of those reserved for our holidays are en-suite and include TV, tea and coffee making facilities, and hairdryers.

On occasion we may need to change the accommodation listed above. If this happens, your replacement accommodation will be of the equivalent standard or higher. In the rare instance this is not possible, we will contact you in advance.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival Day

Your holiday starts at Carmarthen railway station. The transfer from here to your first hotel is included in the price of your holiday. (See travel section for more details). Check-in at the Salutation Hotel is from 1500 and your leader will either meet you at Carmarthen Railway Station or the hotel for a welcome meeting prior to your evening meal.

Day 2: St Dogmaels to Moylgrove

Our trail begins in St Dogmaels, an ancient fishing village whose houses cling to the steep hillsides above the Teifi Valley. The first few miles follow minor roads and country lanes with fine views across the estuary towards Cardigan Island and we experience the full sweep of Cardigan Bay. Rounding Cemaes Head a wonderful vista opens up towards the South West, with views of Dinas Island and the distant lighthouse on Strumble Head. Continuing south we pass the highest point on the whole of the national trail, over 575 feet. The cliffs are magnificent, revealing textbook examples of rock structures. At Ceibwr we turn inland towards Moylgrove. 7.5 miles (12km) with 2,100 feet (640m) of ascent.

Day 3: Moylgrove to Newport

Our roller coaster journey continues from Ceibwr. This is perhaps the wildest and most uninhabited section of the walk, at times the route can be quite tough, but it’s a wonderful exhilarating journey through stunning cliff scenery and numerous rock formations and caves. Pwll-y-Wrach, (Witches Cauldron) is the remains of a collapsed blowhole and a classic feature of marine erosion. If we are lucky we may see seals in this area. Rounding Morfa Head we catch our first glimpse of Newport and Newport Bay. 8 miles (13.5km) with 2,150 feet (660m) of ascent.

Day 4: Newport to Goodwick

Leaving Newport we pass Parog, Newport's oldest port. Before the silting of the estuary in the late 1800s, slates, herrings, woollen fabrics and other local products were exported here. The coastline is quaint on way to the idyllic sandy coves of Aberrhigian and Aberfforest. Cwm-yr-Eglwys (Valley of the Church) is a favourite beauty spot. Sheltered from the westerly winds the valley has an almost Mediterranean feel to it with a lush covering of trees and shrubs, which surround the focal point of the settlement, the ruined church of St Brynach. The coast becomes more exposed around Pwllgwaelod, with fascinating dark shale cliffs and creeks, offshore stacks and small beaches down below. We approach Fishguard Harbour and our hotel across the bay at Goodwick. 12.5 miles (20km) with 2,500 feet (760m) of ascent.

Day 5: Goodwick to Pwll Deri

We follow the path past the peninsula of Pen Anglas. We reach the summit of Carnfathach with a typical Pen Caer landscape with the bleak expanse of Ciliau Moor and the volcanic crag of Garnwnda beyond. This is a harsh yet beautiful environment and with small clusters of settlements along our route. Carreg Goffa and Carregwastad Point are the scenes of the very last invasion of Britain, which took place on 22 February 1797. There is a simple memorial stone which commemorates the landing of Colonel Tate and his invasion force of 1,200 men. Strumble Head is a glorious, wild stretch of coast overlooked by the coastguard lookout building and popular for bird watchers. Weaving in and out of volcanic rock we reach the beauty spot of Pwll Deri. 8.5 miles (14km) with 1,950 feet (600m) of ascent.

Day 6: Pwll Deri to Porthgain

We admire the great rampart of cliffs over 450 feet high in some places and appreciate the magnificent setting of the Pwll Deri Youth Hostel. We reach Aberbach a pretty bay and further along is Aber Mawr the most important Ice Age settlement in Pembrokeshire and close by, Castell-coch an Iron Age promontory fort. This delightful peninsula has wonderful coastal views and the going gets gentler as we pass the delightful hamlet of Abercastle and the beach at Aber Draw to Porthgain. 11 miles (17.5km) with 2,400 feet (720m) of ascent.

Day 7: Porthgain to St Davids

Porthgain is a fascinating village, moulded by a short lived Industrial Revolution in Pembrokeshire. The small harbour was used between 1837 and 1931 for the export of slates and bricks. We encounter another interesting village, Abereiddi, now a favourite spot for artists. From here it’s an excellent final few miles along the cliff tops; before we round the wonderful wild heather covered section of St Davids Head to uncover the crescent shaped beach of Whitesands Bay. Leaving the coast path for the final time we walk on a quiet road to enter St Davids via its Cathedral, a truly stunning end to our holiday. 12 miles (19km) with 1,900 feet (580m) of ascent.

Day 8: Departure Day

At the end of the holiday we will return you to Carmarthen railway station for 10:30.

The itinerary may be subject to change at the discretion of the leader with regard to the weather and other external factors

Travel

By train:

Your leader will meet you at Carmarthen Railway station (outside the main entrance) at 16:50 for the 1 hour transfer to the Salutation Inn. At the end of the holiday we will return you to Carmarthen railway station for 10:30.

If you will not be using our transfer from Carmarthen please let us know, so that the group aren't waiting for you.

There is a regular rail service to Carmarthen, which usually involves a change at either Swansea or Newport.

By car:

There is a car park at Carmarthen railway station, operated by NCP (a one week pass costs approximately £15). From here you can join the free transfers to and from the hotels (see above).

It is also possible to leave your car in the hotel car park in Felindre Farchog for the duration of the holiday. Please note a transfer from St Davids is not provided for those wishing to return here at the end of the holiday. The journey is possible by public bus transport from St Davids to Fishguard (approx 50 minutes) and change at Fishguard for the hourly service to Felindre Farchog (approx 20 minutes). To check the bus timetable, visit www.traveline-ymru.org.uk

Information

Single rooms are generally not available. See below for information if we are unable to find someone to share with you

If at eight weeks prior to the start of the holiday a sharing partner is unavailable, a single room or room for single occupancy with associated supplement will be allocated to you instead. The cost will be £91 (complete holiday)